The Salad Oil King. Rip-off #4.
How to Overcharge Customers for Fresh Fish

When Alfonso “Fonso” Gravenese, AKA The Salad Oil King, was a 9-year old kid, his father asked him to help sell fresh fish from his ice-filled cart after school to their neighbors on Spring Street in Little Italy.

“Fonso” quickly learned if he stuffed ice into the fish’s mouth with some of the ice the fish rested on, the fish would be heavier, and they could charge more on every sale. Fonso cut a deal with his father for 50% of the “extra” profits.

The fresh fish scam would only be the beginning.

The Salad Oil King is the remarkable story—based on a true story—of how a streetwise, unscrupulous high school dropout eventually bilked the American government out of $13 billion before anyone even noticed. It is a classic American crime story of greed gone mad.

“A classic American crime story spun by a master storyteller.”
– San Francisco Book Review

“An intriguing book based on a true story that is both intimate and epic.”
– Manhattan Book Review

“Mesmerizing and enlightening. Great character development. Epic crime story. You’ll want to read it twice.”
– OnlineBookClub.org